jimrpa

Sorry about that - a typo on my part.

Yes, I saw the references you cited as well, but those seats look pretty premium and hope springs eyernam, don't you know?

lns5988

Hi. I've been living in the stone age when it comes to flying so the fact that plane flights can have internet access and a/c power is news to me.

I've already booked my trip for this Christmas from JFK to FCO (Rome) and back. On the way back I am going to be in a coach seat on a 767-300 ER. I've been reading conflicting information about whether this plane has a/c power and personal tv's. I think the $250 change a flight fee is a little steep so I'm basically stuck with whatever I got, but I've been dying of curiosity. Is there any way I can find out ahead of time if my plane is equipped with a/c power and/or personal tv's?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

3Cforme

No wi-fi on the 767-300ER. The Aircell Gogo system is (U.S.) land tower-based. No towers in the ocean > no service over ocean > Delta doesn't want planes to carry the weight, so aircraft typically used in intercontinental service don't have wi-fi.

No PTVs in coach on the 767-300ER (but yes on the 767-300 in domestic - perhaps that is your source of confusion).

No AC or DC power in coach (but yes to AC in Business Elite).

lns5988

Thank you so much for the info and replying so quickly!
Out of curiosity I had gone ahead and called Delta today, and they assured me that my seat would have an a/c outlet (even though it's in coach). Perhaps there have been recent renovations on the plane. Just though people on the forum might be interested in this info.

Prof_Dr_G

I have an IBM/Lenovo X61 Laptop. I often fly DTW-NRT or MSP-NRT. I want to use the in-seat power supply but I always have problems. The plug in the seat is a standard AC 2 blade plug for the USA. However, the current is not standard. I suspected that it was DC, but further research on this list indicates that it supports 110 AC. Still, it will not charge my computer, and the flight attendants can’t help. They suggested that I plug in with the battery outside my computer, but that also does not work for me. It will charge for a short period and then fails. The flight attendants are obviously aware of the problem. These are old Boeing 747 aircraft that were part of the Northwest fleet. Does anyone understand what charger or converter works in this environment with my computer?

Another post on this form states this is the configuration for the aircraft:

Boeing 747-400 (65 seats in World Business Class, Rows 1-12 on the lower deck and 72-80 on the upper deck; 338 seats in Coach, Rows 21-67)
- There are PTVs with AVOD at every World Business Class seat
- There are overhead monitors throughout Coach
- There are 110V AC/75W outlets at each World Business Class seat.

Prof_Dr_G

This is a useful list, and I am interested in the 747 routes DTW-NRT and MSP-NRT. Even though the current is states as 110v, these power sources will not work with my computer. The flight attendants are aware that this is a problem, but they don't seem to have a solution. One suggested to me that I remove my battery before plugging into the power supply. That did now work either. I have a basic misunderstanding of what works and what does not work.

xliioper

Do you really need to charge your battery, or do you just want to use your laptop? If your battery is fully charged (at least 95% or so) when you get on the plane, your laptop will not consume any power to charge it. It will consume just enough to run your laptop which is generally considerably less. You can generally gauge power consumption by feeling your transformer. If you are fully charged, it should be cool to slightly warm to the touch. If it's not, you might want to check the cpu load (you may have processes running in the background driving it up -- and thus power consumption). Note that gaming and watching movies can drive up the cpu load. Also, some AV software will do periodic scans which can drive up the cpu load and power consumption.

Prof_Dr_G

I really do appreciate the suggestion. I don't think I described to problem correctly. When I plug into the power supply, current flows to the laptop for a few minutes, and then it stops. It appears that there is a problem with the wattage, and the power supply (or the computer) triggers a fault and shuts down the current flow. I cannot charge or maintain.

trek87

I just did MSP-NRT on the 744 last month and experienced no issues with the in-flight power. But I also had my power settings dialed down, anticipating that the in-seat power supply couldn't handle the power demand otherwise. This technique (in addition to not trying to simultaneously charge my phone via one of my laptop USB ports) has also worked for the 738 F seats that have power.

xliioper

Hmm, not sure if I can be any more clear. If you reduce your current flow (wattage use), the seat will likely not shut off the AC. The seat is shutting off the AC because you are exceeding the 75 Watt maximum. You can do this by either A) removing your battery (as recommended by the FA's), or B) making sure it is fully charged first before you get on the plane. These basically accomplish the same thing. If your battery is already fully charged, it will not charge any more. It will continue to remain in this fully charged state as long as you are running your laptop off AC. The point is your laptop wattage use varies. If your battery is fully charged, your laptop will just draw enough to power to run the CPU, disk, display, etc., but no additional draw to charge the battery. If your laptop is heavily using it's CPU, it will also increase the wattage use.

Prof_Dr_G

Thanks, and I do understand your reply now. I have tried using with the battery removed, and I must still be consuming more than 75W, since the flow stops and the computer dies after a few minutes. I had not tried adjusting the power settings on the computer, but I will try that in a few weeks on my next trip. Thanks for being patient with me not understanding.

Prof_Dr_G

I should also not that I often fly Singapore Airlines - EWR/SIN and LAX/SIN, and I never have the problem. The same is true with ANA when flying IAD/NRT. I have a converter for UA, and I have had no problems there, but I try to avoid them whenever possible because they are so disrespectful. It is only with Delta that I have had problems.

kerbo

Many of the older aircraft have seat power limits of 75W. Your Thinkpad power brick likely is rated at 90W. I have found the 90W brick never works on the AirBus (published 75W limit), will sometimes works on the 767s and will always work on the 777LRI s.

Tricks like removing the battery never work for me.

The easy solution is buying a 60W brick from Lenovo. It will work for smaller laptops and I think will work the X61. For newer, workstation class laptops (the ones with the large wide displays), the smaller brick will likely not work as these things use lots of power.

It would be really nice to know the in-seat power limits before I board a plane. I have been unable to find a consistent source. This is something that would make SeatGuru even more valuable.

3Cforme

One more trick for the truly desperate is turning down display brightness. Sometimes that few watts difference is enough not to trip the circuit protection within the seat power system.

DL2SXM

So to clarify, i'm flying jfk to txl this Saturday (nov 27) in BE. It sounds like I do NOT need a power adapter/converter for my laptop? I could just simply plug the laptop directly into the power supply?